Twins Minor League Report (4/25): Boushley, Saints Shutout Red Wings

[Seth Stohs]

It was a busy night in the Twins farm system. There was a double header. There was a shutout. There was a huge comeback. A long streak came to an end. There was a grand slam. A top pitching prospect continued to throw a lot of strikes and hand out free bases. Another starter made a case to be a depth piece for the big league club. 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Jose Rodriguez)

It was an interesting night in the Twins organization on Thursday. The Saints got a tremendous pitching performance from their pitching staff. The Wind Surge ended their road losing streak. The Kernels played two games against Beloit, and Zebby Matthews was the starter in one of them. And, what happened in Fort Myers. Well, that's why they play the games!  

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 11-13 
St. Paul Saints: 10-13 
Wichita Wind Surge: 5-13 
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 9-9 
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 7-11   

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS
We posted it in the minor league report yesterday, but it became official on Thursday morning.  The Twins optioned RHP Ronny Henriquez and recalled RHP Simeon Woods Richardson from St. Paul. 

The Twins also sent RHP Justin Topa to the Saints to start a rehab assignment. 

Fort Myers activated LHP Ross Dunn from the development list. RHP Jeremy Lee was placed on the 7-Day IL. 

In addition, the Mussels announced that RHPs Ricky Mineo and Jack Dougherty were transferred from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day IL. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Rochester 0
Box Score
There have been conversations, and several articles, talking about the Twins lack of starting pitching depth. On Thursday night, veteran right-hander Caleb Boushley pointed out on the mound that he would like to have his name considered as well. The Wisconsin native finally got an opportunity on the final weekend of 2023 to pitch for the Brewers. He worked 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, in extra innings, and earned the Win in his lone MLB experience. 

On Thursday, Boushley improved to 3-1 with six shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out four batters. His season ERA dropped to 4.00.  He got a little help from his defense too, including this crazy double-play. 

Justin Topa came in for the seventh inning, making his first rehab appearance. He faced four batters and got three strikeouts. The other batter reached on an error. Jordan Balazovic and Diego Castillo each worked a scoreless inning to close out the shutout. 

The Saints got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. DaShawn Keirsey walked and went to second on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. With two outs, Matt Wallner lined a single to left to drive in the run. 

Yunior Severino hit his third homer of the season to give the Saints a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning. 

In the seventh inning, the Saints added one more. With two outs, Keirsey drove a double to right field that scored Tanner Morris with the third and final run.

The Saints had just six hits in the game. Severino had two of them. Keirsey led the way. He was 1-for-1 with his RBI double, and he walked three times. He also stole his eighth base of the season. 

For the Matt LeCroy -led Red Wings, Dusty Baker’s son Darren led off and went 2-for-4. Top prospect James Woods was also 2-for-4. Former Twins infielder Travis Blankenhorn went 0-for-4. He is now hitting .313 with a 1.027 OPS this season. Burnsville-born Alex Call also went 0-for-4 in this one. The River Falls grad likely had a few people in the stands at CHS Field. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 9, San Antonio 2                                                                                                                                                                         Box Score
The Wind Surge got off to a fast start and got some good pitching to make this an easy, relaxing win... on the road. The win ends their eight-game road losing streak. 

In the top of the second inning, Kala’i Rosario and Carson McCusker started the inning with singles. Jorel Ortega followed with a double that scored both runs. After two outs, Jake Rucker lined a single to center to drive in Ortega with the inning’s third run. 

The fifth inning started with singles by Rucker, Tanner Schobel, and Noah Cardenas. The third drove in Rucker with the team’s fourth run. Andrew Cossetti didn’t want a single, so he drove a double to score Schobel. Rosario added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0. Cossetti scored the seventh run on an error. 

Pierson Ohl was in 2023-form early. He put four zeroes on the board to start the game before giving up two runs in the fifth frame. His final line was two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. John Stankiewicz came in and had three strikeouts over two perfect innings. Miguel Rodriguez and Jared Solomon each pitched perfect innings to shut the door. 

The Surge got those two runs back right away in the top of the sixth inning. A walk, an error, and another walk is how the inning started. With the bases loaded, Kyler Fedko scored on a Cardenas ground out. Cossetti singled to center to drive in Rucker with the team’s ninth and final run of the night. 

The starting pitcher for the San Antonio Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, was Adam Mazur. Born in St. Paul, Mazur went to Woodbury high school where he was a teammate of Marlins’ starting pitcher and former Gopher great Max Meyer. Mazur spent two seasons at South Dakota State, where he went a combined 3-9 with an ERA over 5.50 in 16 starts. However, he had a nice showing in the Cape Cod League and transferred to the University of Iowa. In 15 starts there, he went 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA. He was the Padres second-round draft pick in 2022. In this game, he was charged with seven runs (6 earned ) on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts and no walks. Even with the rough start, he is 1-1 on the season with an ERA of 3.10 and a WHIP of 0.93. In 20 1/3 innings, he has 24 strikeouts and just two walks. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Game 1: Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 
Box Score
Zebby Matthews was strong yet again. He went 5 2/3 innings and gave up just one run on five hits, a solo homer. He had seven strikeouts and no walks. Kyle Bischoff came in and gave up one run on four hits and a walk and recorded just three outs. Ricardo Velez came on and got a strikeout to end the game and earn his third save. 

Matthews threw 86 pitches, and 60 of them were strikes (69.8%). He improved to 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA. In three starts, he has worked 15 2/3 innings. He has 19 strikeouts and is yet to issue a walk. In addition, he was hitting 96 and 97 mph with his fastball again in this game.  

The Kernels took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Ricardo Olivar’s fifth double drove in Luke Keaschall. A Sky Carp homer in the third inning tied the score. In the fourth inning, Jay Harry grounded out to first base, but it was enough to drive in Rubel Cespedes from third base. 

Gabriel Gonzalez hit his first Kernels’ home run, a two-run shot that made it a 4-1 lead for Cedar Rapids. Keaschall scored two of the Kernels' runs. He was 1-for-2 with a walk and his fifth double. He also stole his ninth base. 

Keaschall recently joined Kernels radio voice Calvin Christoforo on the new episode of the All Ears Podcast. 

Game 2: Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 8  
Box Score
The second game didn’t go as well for the home team. Well, the host team, that is. Beloit actually played the game as the home team. It was a make-up game for a rained-out game on the season’s first weekend in Beloit. 

The Sky Carp scored four runs in the second and added one more in the third frame. They added three more in the bottom of the fifth inning to take an 8-0 lead. 

In the top of the sixth inning, the Kernels got on the board when catcher Dillon Tatum drove his first home run of the season. 

Miguelangel Boadas started this game. He gave up four runs (1 earned) on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. He didn’t help himself by hitting three batters. AJ Labas came in and went 2 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on one hit, a solo homer. Jordan Carr worked two innings. He was charged with three runs on five hits and a hit batter. 

The Kernels had just three hits and a walk. Tatum had the homer. Rubel Cespedes hit his sixth double. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, Palm Beach 13 (10 innings)
Box Score
Every year, there are a couple of games like this. They generally happen in the lower levels of the minor leagues. They’re frustrating, but they are a part of a long season and can probably help re-focus a team as much as anything. 

The Mighty Mussels got off to a fast start. In the bottom of the first inning, Jose Rodriguez came up with the bases loaded and drilled his second home run of the season. The grand slam gave the team a 4-0 lead. 

Then in the third inning, Rayne Doncon continued the scoring with his second home run to make it 5-0. Soon after, Poncho Ruiz drove in two runs with a double. That was followed by RBI singles from Omari Daniel and Maddux Houghton. After three innings, the Mussels led 9-0. 

Of course, they had to get 18 more outs before they could call it a win, and therein lies the problem. Palm Beach scored two runs in the fourth inning, but the score remained 9-2 until the eighth inning. At that point, the Mussels only needed six more outs to complete what could have been an easy win.

Palm Beach scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning, but heading to the ninth, the Mussels still led 9-4. Three outs to go!  

But let’s catch up on the Mussels pitching. Lefty Cesar Lares was charged with two unearned runs on seven hits and a walk over the first five innings. He had five strikeouts. 

Kyle Bloor came on for his pro debut and tossed two scoreless innings. Wilker Reyes came one and gave up two runs (1 earned) in the eighth inning. 

Now we’re caught up, 9-4 Mussels with three outs to go. Reyes remained in the game. The first batter reached on Catcher’s Interference. Then there was a single and a walk loaded the bases. Then an error allowed a run to score and the bases stayed loaded. 9-5.

Kade Bragg came into the game. He started by walking a batter to make it 9-6. Following a strikeout, a single made it 9-7. But Bragg got a ground ball. They got the force out at second base, but an error on the throw to first allowed two runs on score and the game was tied 9-9. Bragg got a fly out to end the inning, but the game was headed to extra innings (after the Mussels went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth). 

Xander Hamilton (yes, his name is Xander Hamilton. There’s a million things he hasn’t done… Oh, sorry!) came in to pitch the top of the 10th for the Mussels. With the Manfred Man on second, Hamilton walked the leadoff man. And then the next guy. Palm Beach took the 10-9 lead when he walked his third straight batter. That became an 11-9 lead when Hamilton walked his fourth batter in a row. After a strikeout, a Wild Pitch made it 12-9. With runners on second and third, Hamilton got an infield pop out for the second out. However, another wild pitch made it 13-9.  A line out ended the inning. 

The Mussels went scoreless in the bottom of the 10th. Again, that’s a tough loss. The Mussels quit hitting (or at least scoring runs) after the third inning. They also had five errors as a group. There were wild pitches and passed balls.  

Jose Rodriguez led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with the grand slam. Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day – Jose Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 3-for-5, HR(2), 2 R, 4 RBI, K.  
Pitcher of the Day – Caleb Boushley (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 K, HBP, 81 strikes, 57 pitches (70.4%).  

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday night. 

#4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-3, HR(1), R, 2 RBI. Game 2: 0-for-2, BB, K, RBI. 
#7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 2 K (played CF)
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, BB, R, 2 K.
#11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 K.
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-2, BB, 2B(5), 2 R, K, SB(9). Game 2: 0-for-3.
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2B(5), R, RBI SF, 2 K.
#15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-1, 2 BB, Game 2: DNP.
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 2-for-4, HR(3), R, RBI
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-3, 2B(5), RBI. Game 2: DNP.
#20 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) - 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. 94 pitches, 66 strikes (70.2%), 11 whiffs)

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
Rochester @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (0-0, 2.00 ERA)
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 3.68 ERA)
Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, 2.70 ERA) 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 

 

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[stringer bell]

It wouldn't surprise me if Boushley got some starts for the Twins. He's put up pretty good numbers in the minors.

[FlyingFinn]

Topa on rehab assignment and Duran coming back. Funderburk going to the minors IMO. Then who? I guess they try to squeeze Bowman through waivers to the Saints, even though he has pitched great. We have no flexibility with most of the guys in the Twins pen right now.

Doncon with a couple errors (actually had 3 when I looked last night but they must have changed one of the calls). 

[mikelink45]

Your summaries have become must read.  I thoroughly enjoyed this one.  I appreciate that put in notes about players on the other teams too.  Thank you. 

[Dman]

Out of Culpepper, Morris and Lewis I had Matthews as the fourth "guy".  I might have to rethink that.  His K rate is up this year and he is a magician to have zero walks to start the season and a WHIP of .89.  To me that means his stuff plays.  He is looking like a move up candidate in the near future IMO.

[Doctor Gast]

9 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Topa on rehab assignment and Duran coming back. Funderburk going to the minors IMO. Then who? I guess they try to squeeze Bowman through waivers to the Saints, even though he has pitched great. We have no flexibility with most of the guys in the Twins pen right now.

Doncon with a couple errors (actually had 3 when I looked last night but they must have changed one of the calls). 

IMO it'd be tough to squeeze Bowman through waivers because their are a few teams that need relief help. Would a trade be appropriate? We had a good BP even when Duran, Thielbar & Topa on the IL & very caple Alcala in AAA & have a tremendous Varland that could be used. IMO Canterino is destined in the BP & can be pretty impressive. We can afford to swing a RP trade.

[Seth Stohs]

24 minutes ago, Dman said:

Out of Culpepper, Morris and Lewis I had Matthews as the fourth "guy".  I might have to rethink that.  His K rate is up this year and he is a magician to have zero walks to start the season and a WHIP of .89.  To me that means his stuff plays.  He is looking like a move up candidate in the near future IMO.

That is a really, really good point. He's not just not walking guys to avoid contact. He's going right after hitters and they still aren't hitting him. I think a couple more starts and he could move up to Wichita. It'll be interesting to see if the same remains true there.  

[Old Crow]

Nice opp. field hit by Wallner to score the run.

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Topa on rehab assignment and Duran coming back. Funderburk going to the minors IMO. Then who? I guess they try to squeeze Bowman through waivers to the Saints, even though he has pitched great. We have no flexibility with most of the guys in the Twins pen right now.

They can option Topa until someone else gets injured. Sands is pitching great right now.

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Topa on rehab assignment and Duran coming back. Funderburk going to the minors IMO. Then who? I guess they try to squeeze Bowman through waivers to the Saints, even though he has pitched great. We have no flexibility with most of the guys in the Twins pen right now.

Doncon with a couple errors (actually had 3 when I looked last night but they must have changed one of the calls). 

Because of the guaranteed contract they gave him, I can't imagine they would lose Jay Jackson if they DFAd him and tried to outright him to St. Paul. Similar to the Jharel Cotton situation a year or two ago. That's a possibility. 

[LambchoP]

I'm also curious as to what the twins will do when Duran and Topa will be available. I also think Alcala should be getting innings in the majors, but who do you send down. Someone mentioned Funderburk but I think that'd be a huge mistake. He's been our best lefty.

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Out of Culpepper, Morris and Lewis I had Matthews as the fourth "guy".  I might have to rethink that.  His K rate is up this year and he is a magician to have zero walks to start the season and a WHIP of .89.  To me that means his stuff plays.  He is looking like a move up candidate in the near future IMO.

He's clearly had an increase in stuff, and possibly an increase in command at the same time.  He just refuses to walk guys and can pretty much always put it in the strike zone when he needs to.

I agree he should probably be the first promotion and hopefully fairly soon.

Morris has also been good (I think a little better than his ERA even), and like Matthews, an extreme strike thrower. Really not sure how their rankings will end up, but the 2022 class is turning out to be a really strong competitive class.

[Mike Sixel]

Any update on ERod?

[roger]

Thanks for the report, Seth.  You know how much I appreciate following the kids down on the farm.

I knew nothing, heck, less than nothing about Boushley.  And to my surprise, he is a Badger.  Actually a double Badger from Hortonville who pitched at UW-LaCrosse.  Speaking of Hortonville, Seth, isn't that where that big time starter for the Mets (?) who later was with Detroit was from?  What was his name, was it Zimmerman?

Anyway, he sure looks like somebody who wouldn't hurt the Twins too badly should they need a couple fill-ins later this summer.

[Guest]

Five games, 18 errors, and two guys out at third base simultaneously. This is what makes milb games entertaining, if not polished.